Version 2 - Last Updated: 03 May 2023

Applying for an Advanced Learner Loan

End to end Advanced Learner Loan application

This factsheet contains images of the Advanced Learner Loan online application journey so you can see how the application is structured. 

You may want to show this to your learners so they know what to expect when applying.

Applying for an Advanced Learner Loan

The Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) schemes are both funded by Student Finance England (SFE) and are hosted on GOV.UK.

Learners’ eligibility for FE is based on them being 19 years or older on the first day of their course. The  online application system checks the age of an applicant when they register their personal details. They can only complete an Advanced Learner Loan application if they are over 18 years old and will turn 19 before the end of the current academic year.

If the learner will not be 19 on the first day of their course, the application system will deem them ineligible immediately. The application will never be approved. 

If a learner applies on paper, we will get their date of birth from their identity evidence. Once we add the data into the system, it will perform the same age check as the online application.

Student Home page

After registering, and before starting an application, learners will see information about 6 important things they need to know.

An image of the SFE application page with the message, 'before applying for an Advance Learner Loan, you need to know 6 important things.' along with a green continue button.

An image form the SFE ALL application page, the number 1 with the message 'we'll charge you interest on your loan, as soon as we make your first payment to you.' and a green continue button.

An image of the SFE ALL application page with number 2 and the message, 'You will be charged interest while you are studying. The current interest rate is 5.4% but this could change.' along with a green continue button.

An image of the SFE ALL application page with the number 3 and the message, 'We'll charge you interest until you've repaid your loan in full or, until we cancel your loan 30 years after you entered repayment.' along with a green continue button.

An image of the SFE ALL application page with the number 4 and the message, 'you'll be due to start repaying your loans the April after you finish or leave your course.' along with a green continue button.

An image of the SFE ALL application page with the number 5 and the message, 'You'll only repay when your income is over the repayment threshold. The current repayment threshold is £26,575 but this could change.' along with a green continue button.

 

Before you begin

Before beginning the application, the system will tell learners what information and documents they’ll need to complete it.

An image of the SFE ALL application page listing the things the learner will need before they apply

An image of an SFE ALL application page with the privacy notice and agreement to provide accurate information.

Before continuing any further, the system will ask whether:

  • they have their Learning and Funding Information Letter
  • they'll be living in the UK while studying
  • they live at the same address when not studying

An image from the SFE ALL application asking the learner if they have their Learning and Finding information letter, with the options yes and no in green buttons.

An image form the SFE ALL application asking the learner if the will be living in the UK while studying their course, with the options yes and no in green buttons.

An image from the SFE ALL application page summarising the answers to the three previous questions, and links to change them along with a green button saying continue.

About you

The first section of the loan application will ask the learner to confirm some details about themselves. First, it will ask when they will start their course.

It will then ask the learner to confirm if they are a UK national.

An image of the SFE ALL application page asking 'are you a UK national' with the options yes and no in green buttons.

It will then ask the learner to confirm their identity.

An image of the SFE ALL application page asking for passport details to check the learner's identity.

If the learner is a UK national, the system will ask them to provide their UK passport details if they can.

An image of the SFE ALL application page asking for passport details, such as surname, forename, expiry and start dates.

If the learner is not a UK national, the system will ask them to give more information about their residency.

An image of the SFE ALL application page asking, 'in the three years before the first year of your course, did you live outside of the UK and Islands at any time?' with the options yes and no in green buttons.

An image of a SFE ALL application page summarising the previous three sections for confirmation before moving on to the next section.

An image of part of an SFE ALL application page showing the save and continue button and save and exit buttons that appear alongside the previous summary of answers given.

Your course and loan

The system will ask if the learner wants to apply for the Advanced Learner Loan. If so, it will ask for the details of their course. They will get these from the Learning and Funding Information Letter.

An image from the SFE ALL application page with links to find out more information about ALL.

An image form the SFE ALL application page asking the learner to confirm if they want to apply for an ALL to help cover the cost of their fees, underneath are 2 green buttons one to confirm yes and one for no.

An image from the SFE ALL application summarising the previous question with a link to save and continue and a link to save and exit.

Learners will first need to enter the provider’s UK Provider Reference Number (UKPRN) and course trainer code (if applicable).

An image form the SFE ALL application page with fields for the learner to enter their provider's details.

An image of the SFE ALL application page with results after the learner has searched for their provider details.

Learners can then search for their course.

An image of the SFE ALL application page with fields for the learner to enter and search for their course code.

An image of the SFE ALL application page with the course search results and question, 'is this your course?' and a button to confirm or a link to say no.

Learners will need to enter the start and end date of their course.

An image of the SFE ALL application page with fields for the learner to enter their course start date.

An image of the SFE ALL application page with fields for the learner to enter their course end date.

 

Your loan

The system will then ask for the fee you are charging for the course.

An image of the SFE ALL application page with a field for the learner to enter their course fee.

The learner will then need to say how much they want to borrow.

An image of the SFE Application page stating the maximum amount the learner can borrow and a field for the learner to enter how much they would like to borrow, above a green next button.

Next, the learner can review and change their answers.

An image of the SFE ALL application page with a summary of the learner's answers so far, the opportunity to edit them and 2 buttons, one to save and continue the other to save and exit.

Additional information

The system will ask them to provide 2 additional contacts to support their application.

An image of the SFE ALL application page requesting further information from the learner, with fields for them to enter a contact's details.

An image of the SFE ALL application page with fields for the learner to enter details of a second additional contact.

An image of the SFE ALL application summarising the additional information the learner has entered and the options to select save and continue or save and exit.

Check application summary

Next, the learner will need to check their application details.

An image of the SFE ALL application page with information about how we pay the loan and repayment.

Before you submit

The learner must read the terms and conditions and enter their password to confirm they agree to these before submitting the application.

An image of the SFE ALL application page advising learners that they will need to read the terms and conditions and enter their password to confirm acceptance of them.

An image of the SFE ALL application stating the first term - You are entering into a contract. You have responsibility to repay your loan in line with this contract.

An image of the SFE ALL application with the second term, You have a responsibility to keep your contact details up to date.

An image of the SFE ALL application with the third term, By agreeing to the following terms and conditions, you are signing for your student loan.

If the learner selects No, I don’t agree with the terms and conditions they will be unable to continue with their application and will see the following message.

Once the learner has submitted their application and has electronically signed it, they will be given another opportunity to download the terms and conditions.

They can check the progress of their application by signing into their online account.